US College: How STA Helped Me

Posted on: June 15, 2018 |

For a long time young tennis players have had to decide whether they want to turn pro and pursue their tennis careers, or stay in education.

Here are SotoTennis Academy, we believe you don´t have to make that choice. With tennis careers lasting longer, there isn´t the need to rush to into the professional circuit at 18 like there was even a decade ago.

Instead the US College route gives players 4 years to hone their skills, grow physically stronger, play lots of matches and earn a degree at the same time.

In the latest of our US College guest blog series we hear from former STA player Catherine Vezey from Zimbabwe. Catherine secured a tennis scholarship at King University in Tennessee and takes a look at how SotoTennis Academy helped prepare her for college tennis..

From Zimbabwe to Spain

Leaving home at 16 to pursue my passion for tennis was a pretty frightening but exhilarating experience. I left my home in Zimbabwe, my family, and the comfort of all that was familiar to me. I was lucky however; that the place I had chosen to do so was SotoTennis Academy.

STA became my home, my coaches and fellow players became my family, and the tennis courts my happy place. With 2 years of high school left to complete, a day full of training, and the waves of homesickness, balance was more than necessary. Being young and not quite aware of how to handle it all, I turned to my coaches for guidance and without a doubt, they were there ready to help in any way, at any time.

My journey at STA was one full of productivity, learning both on and off the court, happy times and times of struggle. Most importantly it was a journey that allowed me to grow in ways I never could have, had I not been at the academy, or met the people that I did.

Securing a College Tennis Scholarship

My goal for when I left STA was to earn a tennis scholarship, which I did at King University in Tennessee. Playing on a college tennis team is unlike any experience you will have with regard to this sport. It requires sportsmanship, teamwork, social and emotional skills, discipline, and the ability to work within a team. You also need to have the ability to separate yourself and focus on your game.

Keeping in mind that practice takes up your entire afternoon, conditioning your extra hours of sleep in the early morning, and competitions your weekends, you still have to find a way to show up to class, get your assignments done (on time), and stay on top of your grades.

Oh, and let’s not forget the necessity of making sure you eat properly and socialize from time to time.

A Support Team is Key

With all that college tennis entails, STA prepared me as far as is possible for the experience of being a student-athlete. Unlike many of my teammates, I had been mentored by a group of professional coaches who prepared me for the losses, the wins, the gruelling hours of practice, the nutritional and emotional intuition necessary for the intensity of long and hard days, and most importantly the necessity of making your team and mentors your family.

Personally, having come from an environment in which the entire academy was a family, a family that I was part of and felt safe in, I knew that connecting with my team and coach was essential. The support that I had and still continue to receive from my individual coach at STA, as well as the rest of the team, is phenomenal. I was lucky to have them to turn to while I was still trying to find my way in the early days of being at Uni.

This taught me how important a support team is, not only with regards to tennis, with regard to life in general. Being away from home and family is hard but, luckily for me, I had done it already and knew that I would be okay. STA had taught me that team is synonymous with family and that someone will always have your back.

On a strictly professional spectrum, although I am not one to praise myself in anyway, it was noted by many that my court manner, hard-work ethic, respect, sportsmanship, and empathy towards my teammates were above the others in my team.

I can proudly say that STA is, in many ways, responsible for that. At SotoTennis Academy you learn not only how to be a humble and honorable athlete, but a humble and honorable person who is aware that 10% of life is what happens to you while 90% of it is what you do about it.

Highs & Lows

My experience at US College was filled with turmoil, disappointment, victory and many losses. It is very easy to get tired of your sport, annoyed with your team and coach, and feel as though it´s just not worth it anymore.

Without having the experience I did at STA and without the support of my Coach – Dan who, regardless of that the fact that he was across the Atlantic ocean on a different continent, continued to cheer me on and give me realistic advice, I would have come a lot closer to giving up than I did.

I stuck it out and I have grown tremendously on my journey through University, as I did at STA. I have made friends that feel like family, and have been fortunate to have coaches that I know I will always be able to turn to.

I am very grateful for all that my experience at STA prepared me for, and gave to me. It expanded my abilities as a tennis player, fed my desire to be the best version of myself, led me to people who will forever be a big part of my life and to whom I owe a great deal of my success, and it prepared me for life.

On the surface, you go to STA to play tennis and get coached by some of the best, but trust me… it is so much more than just a tennis academy.

Catherine Vezey
Former SotoTennis Academy Student-athlete

Our Elite Sports Programme with Sotogrande International School provides student-athletes with the best possible opportunity to secure tennis scholarships to US Colleges.

Want to know how our students fit in their schooling and training? Watch our student-athletes daily routine in our Day in the Life of Video.

Listen to our Podcast episode with Sarah Borwell who runs Tennis Smart. Sarah has helped 100´s of tennis players secure tennis scholarships at US colleges including many from SotoTennis Academy.

Read other blogs from former STA players in our US College guest blog series:-